KAREN COMMUNITY ORAL HISTORY PROJECT:
An Inventory of Its Oral History Interviews at the Minnesota Historical Society
Oral History Collection
OVERVIEW
| Creator: | Karen Community Oral History Project. | |
| Title: | Oral history interviews of the Karen Community Oral History Project. | |
| Dates: | 2011. | |
| Language: | Materials in English. | |
| Abstract: | The Karen are an ethnic minority group in Burma and Thailand. In southern Burma, in Kawthoolei state, the Karen have been involved in a struggle for independence since the end of World War II. The Karen villages continue to suffer frequent attacks and persecution from Burma's ruling military junta. Many Karen fled to safety across the eastern border into Thailand. Since 2000, Karen have been arriving in Minnesota. At the time of these interviews over six thousand Karen live in Minnesota. Interviewed by David Zander. | |
| Quantity: | Sound recordings: 3 master cassettes (60 minutes each) and 1 master digital file (1 hour, 30 minutes), and 4 user sound discs. Transcripts: 4 volumes (183 pages); 28 cm. | |
| Location: | OH 138: See Detailed Description for shelf locations. |
SCOPE AND CONTENTS
The Karen Community Oral History Project is part of a larger Asian American and Pacific Islander Oral History Project. The project was a partnership between the Minnesota Historical Society and the Council on Asian Pacific Minnesotans.
ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION
Availability:
The collection is open for research use.
Preferred Citation:
[Indicate the cited item and/or series here]. Karen Community Oral History Project. Oral history interviews of the Karen Community Oral History Project. Minnesota Historical Society.
See the Chicago Manual of Style for additional examples.
Location of Originals:
Original digital sound recording for Ahmay Ya held in the Minnesota Historical Society Oral History Office.
Accession Information:
Accession number: AV2011.44
Processing Information:
Processed by: J. Huebscher, March 2012, September 2013
Catalog ID number: 990074955720104294
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
BLESS SAY, NOVEMBER 5, 2011, SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA.
Use Restrictions: None.
Biographical Information: Bless Say was born in Burma on August 8, 1950. She came to the United States in 2008.
Scope and Content: Subjects discussed include early life; family; school in Burma; dangers of being Karen in Burma; farming; Karen communities in Burma; fleeing to Thailand; refugee camps; moving to Minnesota; citizenship; working in Minnesota; and learning English.
Interviewed by: David Zander.
| Transcript | |||||||||||||
| OH 138 | 1 | 33 pages. | |||||||||||
| Audio | |||||||||||||
| OH 138 | 1 | 1 master sound cassette (1 hour) and 1 user sound disc. | |||||||||||
EH THWEET, NOVEMBER 5, 2011, SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA.
Use Restrictions: None.
Biographical Information: Eh Thweet was born in Burma in 1986.
Scope and Content: Subjects discussed include early life; Burmese military burning his village; struggle to pay for school; running from the Burmese army; finding food; landmines; fleeing to Thailand; living in a refugee camp in Thailand; religion; religious persecution; taking children from Burma to Thailand; coming to the United States; working for Catholic Charities; hopes of further education in Minnesota; and Karen folktales.
Interviewed by: David Zander.
| Transcript | |||||||||||||
| OH 138 | 2 | 51 pages. | |||||||||||
| Audio | |||||||||||||
| OH 138 | 2 | 1 master sound cassette (1 hour) and 1 user sound disc. | |||||||||||
ROBERT ZAN, NOVEMBER 5, 2011, SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA.
Use Restrictions: None.
Biographical Information: Robert Zan is the son of Mahn Ba Zan who was a prominent leader in the Karen struggle for independence. In turn, Robert Zan was a leader in Karen struggles for independence. He is the author of the concise history, Mahn Ba Zan & the Karen Revolution, published in 1993.
Scope and Content: Subjects discussed include early memories of Burmese atrocities against the Karen; family; his father Mahn Ba Zan, the founder of Karen National Defense Organization and leader of the Karen resistance; becoming a solider; fighting in Burma; Karen weddings; religion; Karen student movement; finding strength in psalms; becoming a refugee; the importance of educating the Karen population; immigrating to the United States; learning English; serving people; and the First Baptist Church of St. Paul Minnesota and its relationship to the Karen.
Interviewed by: David Zander.
| Transcript | |||||||||||||
| OH 138 | 3 | 54 pages. | |||||||||||
| Audio | |||||||||||||
| OH 138 | 3 | 1 master sound cassette (1 hour) and 1 user sound disc. | |||||||||||
AHMAY YA, NOVEMBER 5, 2011, BROOKLYN CENTER, MINNESOTA.
Use Restrictions: None.
Biographical Information: Ahmay Ya was born in 1987 in Sanchaung in Rangoon, Burma. She graduated from the University of Burma in 2003-2004. She immigrated to the United States in 2008 as a Karen refugee.
Scope and Content: Subjects discussed include early life; her father, the revolutionary Mahn Nyein Maung; family and how the Karen people name their children; her childhood in Rangoon; while her father was in prison her mother worked as a trader; being questioned by the authorities; escaping from Burma; volunteering to help deliver babies and helping other refugees; coming to the United States alone; getting an education and working in Minnesota; her father's book Against the Storm: Across the Sea and his imprisonment and release; hopes for herself and the Karen; working with the Karen in Minnesota and mental health issues.
Interviewed by: David Zander.
| Transcript | |||||||||||||
| OH 138 | 4 | 46 pages. | |||||||||||
| Audio | |||||||||||||
| OH 138 | 4 | 1 master digital file (1 hour, 30 minutes) and 1 user sound disc. | |||||||||||
CATALOG HEADINGS
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the catalog of the Minnesota Historical Society. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons or places should search the catalog using these headings.
- Topics:
- Asians -- Minnesota.
- Emigration and immigration.
- Immigrants -- Minnesota.
- Karen (Southeast Asian people) -- Minnesota -- Social life and customs.
- Karen (Southeast Asian people) -- Minnesota.
- Persons:
- Say, Bless, interviewee.
- Thweet, Eh, interviewee.
- Ya, Ahmay, interviewee.
- Zan, Robert, interviewee.
- Zander, David, interviewer.
- Document Types:
- Interviews.
- Oral histories (document genres)
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